The present invention relates to electronic equipment of which the equipment body is accommodated in a housing, and the housing for accommodating the same.
Electronic equipment such as an information processor generally comprises an equipment body and a housing for storing the same, and is used for various purposes with a recording medium, a memory card, a plug and the like mounted from outside. In case of an entertainment system for playing games, for example, a plug connector mounted on an end of a wire extending from a controller is connected to a socket connector, and a required memory card is mounted to a specialized socket connector. Then a recording medium such as CD, or DVD is mounted to a recording medium drive unit for reproduction thereof in order to execute the game stored in the recording medium.
In this type of the electronic equipment, the configuration and the appearance of the housing is designed so that it reliably accommodates the equipment body to be accommodated therein and can be connected with external equipment. Therefore, the configuration and the structure of the housing for the electronic equipment of this type is designed giving priority to these functions. Thereafter the appearance is designed based on the configuration and structure which satisfies the above functions.
Among various types of electronic equipment, sales of the product of which the final user is an individual are dependent not only on the performance thereof, but also on the visual design thereof. For example, the entertainment system used for the game, music reproduction, video reproduction, and communications is affected especially by the visual design. In such entertainment systems, there is a tendency that higher performance that enables reproduction of more real and more aesthetically pleasing moving pictures and execution of advanced games is desired. On the other hand, there is a tendency that the user evaluates the performance of the system influenced by the novelty of the visual design of the housing as well as description in catalogues or the advertisements for it. Therefore, in electronic equipment of this type, the visual design is a very important factor in development of the product.
On the other hand, it is also important that the electronic equipment can be used satisfying its original purpose for which it was designed, and that it provides excellent usability for the user. It should be avoided that the performance and the usability is deteriorated as a result of giving a priority to the design.
Accordingly, the housing is required to have a form in which the visual design and the performance of the electronic equipment in question are well merged. However, such consideration has not been given in the conventional housing of the electronic equipment.
It is an object of the present invention to provide electronic equipment that ensures good functionality and usability, as well as a form in which the performance of the electronic equipment and the visual design are well merged to realize an innovative design, and a housing for accommodating the same.
In order to achieve the object described above, the first embodiment of the present invention provides a housing for accommodating equipment elements for processing information, comprising a member constituting a plurality of surfaces surrounding a space for accommodating said equipment elements, wherein at least one of the plurality of surfaces is provided with a pattern of projections and depressions comprising an arrangement of a plurality of projecting ridges extending respectively in the same direction and a plurality of depressed grooves generated between the respective adjacent projecting ridges, and at least one opening that opens in the middle of the pattern of projections and depressions, two edges of which extend in the same direction as said projecting ridges.
The second embodiment of the present invention provides electronic equipment comprising equipment elements and a housing for accommodating the equipment elements, wherein the equipment elements include more than one kind of element for executing at least input or output of information between the element and an external apparatus, the housing has a configuration comprising a plurality of surfaces, at least one of said surfaces comprises a pattern of projections and depressions comprising an arrangement of a plurality of projecting ridges extending in the same direction and a plurality of depressed grooves generated between the respective adjacent ridges, and at least one opening that opens in the middle of the pattern of projections and depressions, two edges of which are aligned in the same direction as said projecting ridges.